Free Before You: Standalone Contemporary Romance by Eve Cates Page A

short, pulling my hand backward as I planted my feet and shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I said as his grip tightened and that sparkle returned to his eyes.
    “You’ll regret it if you don’t. It’s like standing in heaven and looking down at everyone else.”
    My face fell, and I gave my hand a hard tug, freeing it successfully. “I don’t want to.”
    “Are you afraid of heights?” he asked with a raised brow.
    “No. I’m afraid of glass floors that are a thousand feet above the ground.”
    “Trust the glass, Willa.” He held out his hand, beckoning me.
    I shook my head.
    “Then trust me.” His eyes looked so sincere as his hand remained stretched out toward me. I wanted to take it, I did. But, I felt that taking it in that moment would mean so much more than simply stepping onto a platform. If I gave him my trust, I was possibly also giving him the power to break that trust and hurt me. I didn’t know if I wanted to do that. Trust meant something, and I didn’t know if I was ready to have anything mean something between André and me.
    “I don’t know if I can,” I whispered, my heart beating in my ears, cutting out the sound of the room around me. All I could hear was my own breathing and the sound of André’s voice.
    “I wasn’t with Amanda,” he said suddenly, surprising me with that admission. It jolted my heart nonetheless.
    “Where were you then?”
    “The police station.”
    “What?”
    He lowered his eyes for a moment before lifting them again to meet mine, bright, green and shining with honesty. “When I saw you leaving with Abbot, I kind of went to stop you. But a couple of guys got in my way, and when I saw you drive away with Abbot, I kind of got into a fight.”
    “So you kind of got thrown in jail because of it?”
    He chewed the inside of his lip and nodded. “I’m not facing charges though. Dozer got them to let me off with a warning after I’d spent twenty-four in the holding cell. After that, I went for a walk, trying to clear my head. But, all I could think about was you and...” I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes
    Letting out a sigh, I took a hold of his hand and stepped onto the platform as he pulled me toward it. But I kept my eyes on his.
    “Why did you want me to think you’d slept with Amanda?”
    He had the decency to look sheepish.
    I answered for him. “Because you thought I’d spent the night with Abbot? You were jealous?”
    He gave me a single nod. “Yes. I was.”
    He reached up and brushed his fingers along the side of my face, and I closed my eyes to his touch.
    “I don’t know how to have a relationship, André,” I admitted, registering the slight furrow in the center of his brow in response. “That’s the kind of girl I am. I’m the kind of girl who screws everything up and chases people away. I should probably get therapy for it, but, I don’t know, I’ve never really...wanted anything from anyone before. And I’m not trying to scare you and say that I want something from you, but I kind of...I don’t know what this is.” I looked up at him, my eyes pleading for him to understand what I was trying to say. I was trying to tell him that I felt something incredible with him. I was trying to tell him that I didn’t know what to do with what I was feeling. I was trying to tell him that I was more likely to fuck it up than he was. I was trying to tell him that Dave probably warned him away because I’m the one who’s fucked up. Once I get someone out of my system, I’m the one who...
    “Stop talking,” André whispered, silencing me as his mouth met mine, and his hands went around my waist. He kissed me properly this time, long and slow, just the way it should be.
    My thoughts slipped from my mind, and all I could think about was how wonderful his body felt as it pressed against mine, and how amazing it was to have his hands on my body.
    When the kiss came to a natural end, I had my arms around his neck, and I was breathing